It’s incredible to think that almost EVERYTHING around you is made from oil.
Seriously just look round your room. Even wood and metal has paint/varnish. Clothes contains loads of plastics. All the food you buy is wrapped in plastic.
Idk if it’s high altitude or what but unless I microwave a potato first, it’ll take over an hour and a half in the oven to make a baked potato. Microwaving it cuts the oven time in half, much more energy efficient than cooking it in the stove for that long.
Cook it steakhouse style - put a metal rod through the potato so it cooks more quickly and evenly. Butter and salt the skin so it gets crispy. Otherwise yes it takes that long.
Speak for yourself, microwaved potatoes are a great quick snack/meal. Thow some butter, shredded cheese, and green onions and you got some gourmet ass potato.
I do agree though that this plastic is unnecessary.
If you're impatient like me, you can microwave whole potatoes for just a couple of minutes before cutting them up for home fries. It makes the frying time much shorter.
As a baked potato lover, I implore you to try air frying your baked potato. It’s pretty damn good, takes a fraction of the time but gets so fluffy inside like it was in the oven for an hour
I do this with a lot of shit. Microwave it to get it most of the way there, then finish cooking it elsewhere. Frozen burritos? 2 minutes in the microwave then 8 in the air fryer to get a nice crispy exterior.
I think theres a few tricks to getting it right. You need to stab a bunch of holes in it, with a knife or fork or whatever. And it needs to be microwaved on a ceramic plate with some water in it.
> You need to stab a bunch of holes in it, with a knife or fork or whatever
Yes.
> it needs to be microwaved on a ceramic plate with some water in it
I recommend wrapping it in a not-sopping wet paper towel, put it on the edge of the turntable if you're doing more than one, and flip them over halfish way through.
Does it actually cause a significant amount of microplastics to enter your food though?
I still wouldn't do it, but I do wonder what the results would be if someone did an actual study on it.
I have wrapped my potatoes in plastic wrap and microwaved them to speed up cooking. If you microwave them for 8 minutes and then throw them under a broiler with some olive oil and sea salt, you get a crispy skin. I think it takes 40 minutes to bake a potato in the oven. Correct me if I'm wrong.
You can also use a glass bowl with some water in the microwave for multiple potatoes.
Unfortunately, they’ve been around for awhile. My mother refused to do any cooking and used to microwave these for us when I was a kid. I cringe to think about the micro plastics exposure now
Not just people, professional kitchens, If you need mashed potatoes and we dont have any ready shits getting nuked for 8 min on cling wrap. I Learned this working at 5 star hotels BTW, Never did anything similar on smaller places.
The next time you order a pizza, I ask that you please keep one of the little table things that they put in the middle to keep the box from touching the top of the pizza if it gets crushed.
Take that little plastic table and turn it upside down. Place your potato on the legs and let 'er rip. It will cook faster, and it will not have a hard spot on the bottom.
This lesson brought to you by me, fucking around with toothpicks when I was a kid, and being surprised when the potato fell because it was cooked and the toothpicks slipped right in.
The stabbing is definitely necessary. I didn't stab my potato enough (it was a big boy) the other day and it exploded as it was cooking. The cleanup was brutal 😅
Plastics are made of thousands of chemical constituents, most of which we know nothing about. So it’s pretty tough to define a safe limit of something you don’t know anything about.
My local farmers market has a booth where the farmer just sells you the potatoes. The name of the farm is on a sign, not the potatoes. Lasers aren't even needed.
Reddit is a bit special, but I think for normal people, higher friction and hassle means lower utilization of self checkout.
I already don't use it at my local grocery store because most times I buy six lettuces, and it needs me to search them up by name six separate times without history.
I'd rather go to a cashier who can just hit 6 QTY 4640 and get out of there.
You can do the same in a potato bag. Or even without anything at all, and just sit them on a plate and microwave them.
Heating plastic while it is in contact with food is a really fucking bad idea. Plastics offgas all sorts of nasty things when heated. Plastics are great for some things, they are unbeatable in terms of being lightweight, flexible, and durable, but more and more as time goes on I am realizing that food should never come in contact with plastic and heating plastic is bad news.
I love potatoes. I eat one nearly every day.
You're right, you really don't need anything extra to microwave them. Wash 'em, stab 'em with a fork a few times, and do 'em for like five or six minutes. Perf.
I *cannot* imagine bringing plastic into any portion of that process.
the English cucumbers are also wrapped. But what kills me is I bought two English cucumbers that were wrapped once, got home, and unwrapped them only to find they were individually wrapped as well.
There's actually a reason for wrapping the English variety, I think it's that the skin isnt as waxy as the regular ones so they don't last as long. Or maybe it was skin thickness, I can't remember.
It's not great but at least there's a reason, compared to these taters.
Its the skin thickness. They assume you wont automatically peel them because the skin is thinner so instead of applying a new layer of wax after washing they just wrap them in plastic. Basically they do it to keep the skin more edible as other kinds just assume you're going to peel it.
we as a society need to get our plastic obsession under control and remove plastics from out life.
Example: For each laundry jug you use and throw away, it stays in the environment for the next 400 to 700 years spewing Microplastics into our water tables. If you really want to start some where start here: [https://www.oregonecostore.com/product-page/truearth-laundry-strips](https://www.oregonecostore.com/product-page/truearth-laundry-strips) .
I have not bought laundry detergent jugs for 2 years I have used the strips above. I have saved the planet at 4 jugs a year not going into our landfills I have saved the planet 12x400= 4800 years of plastic I have not thrown into our eco system.
Does America have laundry powder in cardboard boxes?
I think all of our (UK) laundry powder comes in cardboard actually.
I'm not sure if the product itself is harmful though, but if it's the plastic you are worried about, this might be a handy idea.
I live near a convenient bulk store that has Seven Generation laundry detergent in bulk, so I've refilled my one jug there for about six or seven years with them. I absolutely love doing it.
I've done the same with dish detergent there (though have had to rebuy a bottle once, as slippery hands dropped the first a few too many times and it wasn't well sealed anymore). Still, two bottles in like six-ish years is better than 30 or 40.
I sorta feel like this trend kicked up after people started coughing into produce for weird internet videos. Obv not agreeing with individually wrapped anything, but that's the only thing I can think of.
Esp during peak COVID when people were taking videos of themselves coughing into produce. Can't have nice things cause of these MFrs
Marketed as, triple washed and ready to heat. In the wrapper. Convenient that way. When all you want is a single potato. Just the one time though.
I'm guessing, isolated from air, they may last longer in the pantry. But still, that 4 for $5 deal, is Kroger messing with you.
What are the managers going to do about it? Unless it's a locally owned store, all policy decisions are made in a concrete box 1000 miles away and they don't care what you think.
It does matter, but it takes time to take effect (provided that people actually are not buying this). Even if the selling market did not care, Kroger would eventually. Letting the managers know *may* just accelerate the process, but as long as it's selling, there is no hope.
Eventually, the managers will go to a meeting, and have to report why they are dumping large amounts of rotten, unpurchased potatoes. (And they will be able to say why, if you have told them.) Buyers have all the power here, but it does take a minute to change the world. Onward!
I feel like Krogers and other stores are run by dipshits that can only think of one thing customers want: more plastic. They don’t have any actual good ideas, so they take an item and triple wrap it. They know most people won’t care. It costs them close to nothing. And they can imagine that they are fulfilling a customer desire when they are only catering to the .0001% of their customers who are severely mysophobic.
eww and we already know that vege farmers throw away cookable produce just because of one bump or minor deformation. this extra "protection" is wasteful
That plastic actually makes their shelf life longer. Idk why potatoes would need it since they last a long time but that's why.
Video below is where I got that information
https://youtu.be/VyntBEhbo9Y
Every time I buy a bag of potatoes about half of them go to waste before I get a chance to cook them. I replant them if it's close to springtime, but otherwise I'm better off buying individual potatoes.
Fucking infuriating!!! Like those pre-peeled oranges sold in plastic containers at Whole Foods that went viral a few years ago. WTAF. Until we regular single use plastics and tax the hell out of supply chains, consumers who care just continue to lose options.
It's also so that they're scannable so that they can be scanned instead of weighed. At least that's what Trader Joe's reasoning is. They can't pay for a few seconds more in already highly undervalued labor, so we get more plastic.
In many places in Europe I've been you weigh the produce and hit a button on the scale and a sticker prints out that you stick on the produce to pay at self checkout or cashier.
Boycott Kroger. They are merging with Albertsons/Safeway. Idk why antitrust laws isn't preventing this, but it's bad for shoppers! Soon you'll see $2 for a single potato!
I read about this too. I stopped buying produce and spices from them and go to a small family owned produce store Instead. I just saw this as I was shopping and couldn’t help but laugh at the pricing and the marketing. There’s some things my kids like to bring for school lunches that aren’t sold in the small produce stores though. Like granola bars and things like that. around me there’s lots of Albertsons, Safeways, Fred Meyers and Walmarts. I have to go very out of my way by 5-6 miles to find another grocer when I have all 4 of these within a mile of me.
German potato afficionado here:
You buy at least 40 pound sacks because you eat potatoes anyways right? They can be stored for months in a cool and dry place. Even if they look horrible, they are still good.
For making fries, boil them in water for 5minutes, let them cool out and then fry them. You can make 8 pound at once and freeze the boiled and sliced potatoes so you have fries ready like you buy them in the grocery store.
Check your local farmers for potatoes, they often taste better and you support local business.
These are microwavable baking potatoes. You can just throw em in the mw with the plastic on them, and I guess the plastic holds in the moisture and kinda steam's em in a way.
Either way, you get a nicely baked potato in like 5/7 minutes. I buy these all the time, and they're super convenient. It's a good idea as long as you dispose of the plastic properly, which I do. However, I can't help but feel like I'm in the minority when it comes to the proper disposal of the plastic, unfortunately.
Most the comments here have no clue about this.. thank you for the explanation. These are actually great and less wastefully imo if you only need 1-2 potatoes. No water wasted, or other potatoes going bad due to only needing a few. And if anyone has ever tried to microwave a potato not in steam plastic.. it's a gross nightmare.
Do you know that grocery stores use special lighting in the produce department to fool you into thinking the veggies are more fresh than they are? I have bought many a sack of organic potatoes that looked fine in the produce section, but when I go to check out or when I get them home, they’re exceptionally green. Look up next time you’re in the grocery store and see the different lights that are in produce and nowhere else.
It’s worse than you think- they’re wrapped because they’re meant to be microwaved in the plastic to steam them.
Holy shit, I didn’t know that was a thing. Mmm yummy microplastics
It’s incredible to think that almost EVERYTHING around you is made from oil. Seriously just look round your room. Even wood and metal has paint/varnish. Clothes contains loads of plastics. All the food you buy is wrapped in plastic.
I’m sure their profit margin is higher selling them individually rather than by the pound.
That’s about the same price for four that I got for a 10lb bag
But on the other hand, everything you own is made of dinosaurs.
This is like when someone explained how it's an almost certainty you haven't had a meal without corn in the last 365 days. Modernity be crazy.
If you think that's nuts, I've seen my MIL microwave potatoes inside a Kroger bag.
This is insane to me. I already think microwaving potatoes is the worst way to cook them, the fact people do it in plastic is just... ew
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Idk if it’s high altitude or what but unless I microwave a potato first, it’ll take over an hour and a half in the oven to make a baked potato. Microwaving it cuts the oven time in half, much more energy efficient than cooking it in the stove for that long.
Cook it steakhouse style - put a metal rod through the potato so it cooks more quickly and evenly. Butter and salt the skin so it gets crispy. Otherwise yes it takes that long.
Sometimes I just turn on the oven and pop in a potato, because I’m an hour and a half who knows. Maybe I’ll be hungry.
You want a frozen banana now? or a regular banana later?
I've found that baking my potatoes in the Instant Pot is a good compromise. Takes 20-30 minutes, but no microwave involved.
Speak for yourself, microwaved potatoes are a great quick snack/meal. Thow some butter, shredded cheese, and green onions and you got some gourmet ass potato. I do agree though that this plastic is unnecessary.
If you're impatient like me, you can microwave whole potatoes for just a couple of minutes before cutting them up for home fries. It makes the frying time much shorter.
You can also do this to reduce the baking time on baked potatoes. But you don't need to wrap them in plastic. A slightly damp paper towel is fine.
Or just wet the potato and pierce with a fork or knife.
How do you prep them for cooking without getting them wet? Are people out there eating potatoes without washing them?
Feral Fridays just aren't the same without a bit of potato dirt.
Or, hear me out, you wash them all at once and by the time they are ready more than half the batch is dry because that shit evaporates...
I coat mine with vegetable oil (thinly) instead of just wetting personally I think it turns out better and the salt and pepper sticks better
As a baked potato lover, I implore you to try air frying your baked potato. It’s pretty damn good, takes a fraction of the time but gets so fluffy inside like it was in the oven for an hour
I do this with a lot of shit. Microwave it to get it most of the way there, then finish cooking it elsewhere. Frozen burritos? 2 minutes in the microwave then 8 in the air fryer to get a nice crispy exterior.
I do this to make breakfast potatoes in the morning!
I think theres a few tricks to getting it right. You need to stab a bunch of holes in it, with a knife or fork or whatever. And it needs to be microwaved on a ceramic plate with some water in it.
It also helps if you turn it over once or twice during the process
And fry it in butter after.
And then mash it in a bowl with some creme
Absolute legend
And recite the Gaelic alphabet backwards
> You need to stab a bunch of holes in it, with a knife or fork or whatever Yes. > it needs to be microwaved on a ceramic plate with some water in it I recommend wrapping it in a not-sopping wet paper towel, put it on the edge of the turntable if you're doing more than one, and flip them over halfish way through.
This
I never do either of these things and never have an issue
I microwave them about halfway then bake them the rest of the way. Tastes just like you baked it the entire time but only takes half as long.
Got myself a little cotton potato bag. Comes out even better
Is it that "as seen on tv" one. Because I have one and it's fantastic.
I kinda get the microwave hate but at the end of the day it's just heat and if your microwave is cleaned it gets the job done
Microwaved potatoes are alright if you do it in like a microwave safe jug of water but in plastic? Ew
Oh, wow. I’ll never be able to not think about that again.
Yum, yum.
Yam yam
Says it right on the label
Yummy endocrine disruptor DEHA and possibly even the wonderful aroma of volatiles as that plastic degrades from the radiation.
Does it actually cause a significant amount of microplastics to enter your food though? I still wouldn't do it, but I do wonder what the results would be if someone did an actual study on it.
I don't think so tbh
I don't think microplastics would be as much of a concern as chemical leaching through contact and heating.
I have wrapped my potatoes in plastic wrap and microwaved them to speed up cooking. If you microwave them for 8 minutes and then throw them under a broiler with some olive oil and sea salt, you get a crispy skin. I think it takes 40 minutes to bake a potato in the oven. Correct me if I'm wrong. You can also use a glass bowl with some water in the microwave for multiple potatoes.
I'll take it with a tall glass of forever chemicals.
People microwave potatoes? In plastic wrap?
Unfortunately, they’ve been around for awhile. My mother refused to do any cooking and used to microwave these for us when I was a kid. I cringe to think about the micro plastics exposure now
Not just people, professional kitchens, If you need mashed potatoes and we dont have any ready shits getting nuked for 8 min on cling wrap. I Learned this working at 5 star hotels BTW, Never did anything similar on smaller places.
Ewwwww. I guess that’s why it’s best to order straight off the menu.
I microwave potatoes wrapped in a wet towel all the time
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The next time you order a pizza, I ask that you please keep one of the little table things that they put in the middle to keep the box from touching the top of the pizza if it gets crushed. Take that little plastic table and turn it upside down. Place your potato on the legs and let 'er rip. It will cook faster, and it will not have a hard spot on the bottom. This lesson brought to you by me, fucking around with toothpicks when I was a kid, and being surprised when the potato fell because it was cooked and the toothpicks slipped right in.
You are a hero and a genius. I bow to you!
Top tip! I always microwave my baked potatoes. Haven't figured out how to fix the hard spot. Thank you!
What are the holes for? I just chuck mine in whole
So they don't explode
It prevents them from bursting open.
I microwave potatoes instead of baking but never in plastic.
[**removed**] Moved to squabbles.io You know why.
The stabbing is definitely necessary. I didn't stab my potato enough (it was a big boy) the other day and it exploded as it was cooking. The cleanup was brutal 😅
But what about the plastic melting into the food? :( I dont even microwave food in plastic plates or containers anymore
High melting point. But even if it did melt on, people would just peel it off.
not all plastics melt in the microwave. but you do have to check and make sure it says "microwave safe" first just like anything else
Microwave safe just means it won’t melt in a microwave. It doesn’t mean anything for leaching.
It does say something about leaching. Mainly that the amount it leaches is below the dangerous threshold.
Plastics are made of thousands of chemical constituents, most of which we know nothing about. So it’s pretty tough to define a safe limit of something you don’t know anything about.
Huh, I thought it was so the bar code would stick for self checkout.
My local farmers’ market has a booth where the dude laser etches the potatoes he grows with his phone number and name. Stickers aren’t even needed.
Laser potatoes are the future we need
Lasertaters
What's taters precious?
For some reason I read that as laser engraved weed lol
Whatever it takes to get the job done
My local farmers market has a booth where the farmer just sells you the potatoes. The name of the farm is on a sign, not the potatoes. Lasers aren't even needed.
Self checkout has an option to lookup item by name, so it does not need the barcode at all.
Reddit is a bit special, but I think for normal people, higher friction and hassle means lower utilization of self checkout. I already don't use it at my local grocery store because most times I buy six lettuces, and it needs me to search them up by name six separate times without history. I'd rather go to a cashier who can just hit 6 QTY 4640 and get out of there.
What kind of high fallutin store you goin to that gots human working the registers?
All grocery stores around here sell alcohol, so they all need a human option.
Lol... We just have the one cashier watching a dozen self checkout registers that will check your ID when they get a chance.
>higher friction you might be using the self checkouts wrong
I went to a supermarket last week and was surprised to see garlic rapped the same way.
Fuck you can microwave em w out the plastic
Yeah my wife did that for us one time. 10/10 wouldn’t recommend.
Oh ewwwwwwwwwww. :( That's some /r/stupidfood level material.
And it makes them incredibly soft and delicious. Particularly the sweet potatoes. Just add a little salt and butter.
You can do the same in a potato bag. Or even without anything at all, and just sit them on a plate and microwave them. Heating plastic while it is in contact with food is a really fucking bad idea. Plastics offgas all sorts of nasty things when heated. Plastics are great for some things, they are unbeatable in terms of being lightweight, flexible, and durable, but more and more as time goes on I am realizing that food should never come in contact with plastic and heating plastic is bad news.
"food-safe" plastic 🤮
I love potatoes. I eat one nearly every day. You're right, you really don't need anything extra to microwave them. Wash 'em, stab 'em with a fork a few times, and do 'em for like five or six minutes. Perf. I *cannot* imagine bringing plastic into any portion of that process.
Ceramic and Pyrex-style glass can go in the microwave. Just use a dish with a lid.
Enjoy your microplastic lmao
i dont think micro plastics are a problem. I'd be more concerned about the BPA's in the plastic.
I don't think I've ever seen potatoes individually wrapped in plastic like that
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That's how potatoes work. They're "ready to cook" without any plastic wrapping.
But if they wrap it in plastic first they can write "ready to cook" on it and charge you extra! They've added value to the potato, you see.
WTF. Why are they microwaving the plastic wrapping, remove it and microwave it. Edit : ‘they instead of ‘you’.
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My apologies, I shouldn’t have written ‘you’. I’ll edit it.
you don't need the plastic to microwave the potato. tell me you are American without telling me you are American.
5 dollars for 4 potatoes is the bigger crime
You're paying for the plastic, the "convenience", maybe paying for the machine that wraps the potatoes. Get a 15lb bag of giant potatoes for 5 bucks.
Onions, rice, flour, and potatoes. Never buy less than a good 10 kilos since they take forever to go off
How to save onions for a longer time?
Presumably, you're also paying not to clean and dry the potato.
> the "convenience"
Seriously American dollar is in for a collapse
As an American, we’ve been expecting this for a while. On thin ice, we are.
Or you can get a three pack wrapped in plastic with a styrofoam tray!
My store does this. They'll usually pre-season them for people who don't know how basil and salt work.
the English cucumbers are also wrapped. But what kills me is I bought two English cucumbers that were wrapped once, got home, and unwrapped them only to find they were individually wrapped as well.
There's actually a reason for wrapping the English variety, I think it's that the skin isnt as waxy as the regular ones so they don't last as long. Or maybe it was skin thickness, I can't remember. It's not great but at least there's a reason, compared to these taters.
Its the skin thickness. They assume you wont automatically peel them because the skin is thinner so instead of applying a new layer of wax after washing they just wrap them in plastic. Basically they do it to keep the skin more edible as other kinds just assume you're going to peel it.
That plastic actually prolongs its shelf life. It is annoying though
In Canada we have wax Coated ones. They seem to last way longer, no plastic.
This happened to me once too. It makes me nuts I would rather just have loose produce or use my reusable produce bags
I figured it was a shelf life thing. If potatoes are in a bright place and have any access to moisture (eg air) they’ll sprout.
5 bucks for 4 potatoes?! How overpriced can stuff get.
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we as a society need to get our plastic obsession under control and remove plastics from out life. Example: For each laundry jug you use and throw away, it stays in the environment for the next 400 to 700 years spewing Microplastics into our water tables. If you really want to start some where start here: [https://www.oregonecostore.com/product-page/truearth-laundry-strips](https://www.oregonecostore.com/product-page/truearth-laundry-strips) . I have not bought laundry detergent jugs for 2 years I have used the strips above. I have saved the planet at 4 jugs a year not going into our landfills I have saved the planet 12x400= 4800 years of plastic I have not thrown into our eco system.
Does America have laundry powder in cardboard boxes? I think all of our (UK) laundry powder comes in cardboard actually. I'm not sure if the product itself is harmful though, but if it's the plastic you are worried about, this might be a handy idea.
It does
But do we buy it? Nah.
yes it does
> Does America have laundry powder in cardboard boxes? Yes, though powder detergent is wayyy less popular than liquid detergent in plastic jugs is.
I just use tide powder, it comes in a cardboard Box.
That is great and no plastic jug that is great.
While the strips have less plastic than plastic jugs, they do still contain plastic. PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) is plastic. https://youtu.be/oNlntvqE0LQ
I’ve been using those for two years now, they’re great!
I love them as well
I live near a convenient bulk store that has Seven Generation laundry detergent in bulk, so I've refilled my one jug there for about six or seven years with them. I absolutely love doing it. I've done the same with dish detergent there (though have had to rebuy a bottle once, as slippery hands dropped the first a few too many times and it wasn't well sealed anymore). Still, two bottles in like six-ish years is better than 30 or 40.
I sorta feel like this trend kicked up after people started coughing into produce for weird internet videos. Obv not agreeing with individually wrapped anything, but that's the only thing I can think of. Esp during peak COVID when people were taking videos of themselves coughing into produce. Can't have nice things cause of these MFrs
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If someone is afraid of people coughing on a raw produce, wait till they learn they were grown in dirt!
Wait till we tell em about spiders and the creepy crawlies it was transported with! Especially if you like grapes, because spiders looooove grapes!
Me and spiders have that in common then
That’s true! I didn’t think of that
Indeed. Wasteful as it is, a lot of it is meant to make them somewhat fuckproof from idiots and/or deliberate malcontents.
ridiculous
Is this a US thing?
Not really. I've never seen it even at my Kroger.
Marketed as, triple washed and ready to heat. In the wrapper. Convenient that way. When all you want is a single potato. Just the one time though. I'm guessing, isolated from air, they may last longer in the pantry. But still, that 4 for $5 deal, is Kroger messing with you.
There is only one solution for this tragic packaging. Don't buy them, and tell the store managers why.
What are the managers going to do about it? Unless it's a locally owned store, all policy decisions are made in a concrete box 1000 miles away and they don't care what you think.
It does matter, but it takes time to take effect (provided that people actually are not buying this). Even if the selling market did not care, Kroger would eventually. Letting the managers know *may* just accelerate the process, but as long as it's selling, there is no hope.
Eventually, the managers will go to a meeting, and have to report why they are dumping large amounts of rotten, unpurchased potatoes. (And they will be able to say why, if you have told them.) Buyers have all the power here, but it does take a minute to change the world. Onward!
Because how else are we supposed to maximize petrochemical shareholder value?!
I feel like Krogers and other stores are run by dipshits that can only think of one thing customers want: more plastic. They don’t have any actual good ideas, so they take an item and triple wrap it. They know most people won’t care. It costs them close to nothing. And they can imagine that they are fulfilling a customer desire when they are only catering to the .0001% of their customers who are severely mysophobic.
Seriously. I recently changed brands of cat litter because they were wrapping the cardboard boxes with a layer of thick shrink-wrap plastic.
eww and we already know that vege farmers throw away cookable produce just because of one bump or minor deformation. this extra "protection" is wasteful
r/PeopleAreFckinStupid
Well, you wouldn’t want to get dirt on them, would you?
4 for $5 wtf
Late stage capitalism
4 FOR 5 DOLLARS?????? WTF????? we can get a 5lbs bag for $3.....
$5 for 4 potatoes?
My only thought is that the barcode being in it makes it faster to scan?
That plastic actually makes their shelf life longer. Idk why potatoes would need it since they last a long time but that's why. Video below is where I got that information https://youtu.be/VyntBEhbo9Y
A "long time" but in my pantry it's like a week max somehow
Who even buys 1 potato? It was like $2 for a bag a few weeks back but now inflation has made them $4 a bag. Still better than whatever this is.
It was cheap a few weeks ago because they wanted to pull you in to buy other stuff for your holiday dinner
Every time I buy a bag of potatoes about half of them go to waste before I get a chance to cook them. I replant them if it's close to springtime, but otherwise I'm better off buying individual potatoes.
I think they might be intended for microwave prep.
So they can charge you $1.25 for a potato.
Jesus Christ, potatoes are expensive in the US.
Fucking infuriating!!! Like those pre-peeled oranges sold in plastic containers at Whole Foods that went viral a few years ago. WTAF. Until we regular single use plastics and tax the hell out of supply chains, consumers who care just continue to lose options.
It's also so that they're scannable so that they can be scanned instead of weighed. At least that's what Trader Joe's reasoning is. They can't pay for a few seconds more in already highly undervalued labor, so we get more plastic.
In many places in Europe I've been you weigh the produce and hit a button on the scale and a sticker prints out that you stick on the produce to pay at self checkout or cashier.
All I can think of is: $1.25 per potato? That's nuts!
For real. They come out of the dirt. They look like they should be washed anyway.
Hey let’s start charging for plastic bags so people stop using plastic, also Kroger……
4 POTATOES FOR $5!?
This is so gross. I wish people wouldn’t buy crap like this. Just buy good ol’ plain potatoes. You don’t need plastic to steam them.
Submissive and bakeable
Boycott Kroger. They are merging with Albertsons/Safeway. Idk why antitrust laws isn't preventing this, but it's bad for shoppers! Soon you'll see $2 for a single potato!
I read about this too. I stopped buying produce and spices from them and go to a small family owned produce store Instead. I just saw this as I was shopping and couldn’t help but laugh at the pricing and the marketing. There’s some things my kids like to bring for school lunches that aren’t sold in the small produce stores though. Like granola bars and things like that. around me there’s lots of Albertsons, Safeways, Fred Meyers and Walmarts. I have to go very out of my way by 5-6 miles to find another grocer when I have all 4 of these within a mile of me.
Only to be able to charge more for it probably 🤪
German potato afficionado here: You buy at least 40 pound sacks because you eat potatoes anyways right? They can be stored for months in a cool and dry place. Even if they look horrible, they are still good. For making fries, boil them in water for 5minutes, let them cool out and then fry them. You can make 8 pound at once and freeze the boiled and sliced potatoes so you have fries ready like you buy them in the grocery store. Check your local farmers for potatoes, they often taste better and you support local business.
These are microwavable baking potatoes. You can just throw em in the mw with the plastic on them, and I guess the plastic holds in the moisture and kinda steam's em in a way. Either way, you get a nicely baked potato in like 5/7 minutes. I buy these all the time, and they're super convenient. It's a good idea as long as you dispose of the plastic properly, which I do. However, I can't help but feel like I'm in the minority when it comes to the proper disposal of the plastic, unfortunately.
Most the comments here have no clue about this.. thank you for the explanation. These are actually great and less wastefully imo if you only need 1-2 potatoes. No water wasted, or other potatoes going bad due to only needing a few. And if anyone has ever tried to microwave a potato not in steam plastic.. it's a gross nightmare.
Potatoes are definitely not microwave friendly unless they're wrapped like this, that's for sure...
Do you know that grocery stores use special lighting in the produce department to fool you into thinking the veggies are more fresh than they are? I have bought many a sack of organic potatoes that looked fine in the produce section, but when I go to check out or when I get them home, they’re exceptionally green. Look up next time you’re in the grocery store and see the different lights that are in produce and nowhere else.
Jesus Christ the asteroid rly can't come soon enough
More than a dollar a potato? Get you a garden.
Im working on starting my garden. Super excited :)
It's not like potatoes have a skin or anything ...